The Collegiate Reformed Church of America in New York City
has provided many records which are helpful to Brouwer researchers. Baptisms,
which list the parents’ names including the mother’s maiden name, as well as
sometimes the sponsors’ names can help piece together families. Unfortunately
the publication of Collegiate RCA baptism records (Ancestry.com, New York Genealogical and
Biographical (NYG&B) Record,
etc.) do not exist past 1800. By examining page 240 of The Iconography of Manhattan Island,
we can see what Collegiate records do exist, whether they are published or not.
Baptism records exist through 1893.
Fortunately there is a little known unpublished manuscript
in the NYG&B special collection at the New York Public Library titled, “New
York City Dutch Reformed Church baptisms, 1801–1811”. There is an index for
this manuscript which was created in 2001 by Marian LoPresti and is part of the
same collection.
The photograph above is from LoPresti's index page 6 and contains
both Brower and Brouwer. When you see three people on the same page it is
probably a baptism of a Brower/Brouwer child showing mother, father, and child. If there is
a single person on a page it could be a mother using her Brower maiden name or could also mean a person has Brower/Brouwer as a middle name. Keep in mind there could also be more than one baptism involving a Brower/Brouwer on the same page. It is
always best to view the actual document and not jump to conclusions.
If you are interested in getting a copy of the manuscript
pages, contact manuscripts@nypl.org.
There is a $10 fee plus a $0.50 per page charge. They will have you fill out a
form. The details you need for the form can be found by searching the NYPL.org site for “New
York City Dutch Reformed Church, 1801-1811 (baptisms)”.
I have already purchased copies of pages 352, 365, and 375 and found them very helpful in my research. If you are interested in a Brower on those pages please let me know.
BGB 611
BGB 611
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